An insect-computer hybrid walking robot

This study presents the development of an insect-computer hybrid walking system. Anatomy of a beetle (Mecynorrhina torquata) was first done by the author to locate target muscles for motion control. Experiments were done by the author to confirm the magnitude, wave form, and frequency of the stimulation signal required to elicit desired leg motions. A micro biological actuator was built by the author by stimulating the leg muscles to control the corresponding leg motions. Power consumption of leg motion control via muscle stimulation was measured and proved to be very low (on the order of 100 μW to a few milliwatts). Graded and closed-loop control of the leg motion magnitude was achieved by using a proportional controller. Sequential muscle stimulation protocol was developed by studying the natural walking gait of the beetle. Existing insect-computer hybrid robots in literature lack the control of walking gait, step frequency, and speed. By altering the stimulation sequences and adjusting the muscle stimulation durations in the control protocol developed in this study, the insect’s walking gait, step frequency and walking speed became controllable by users. A wireless control “backpack” was developed by the author for the beetle and this enabled the insect-computer hybrid system to be remotely controlled by users. The contact mechanism between the beetle’s leg and the walking substrate was investigated and the beetle’s natural leg spines were found to be anisotropic that only increase the foot traction in forward walking. As such, I designed an isotropic artificial leg spine to enhance the walking performance in both forward and backward direction.Doctor of Philosophy (MAE